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A Basic Introduction To The Day OfThe Lord In The Old Testament

Writing ProphetsJune 10 2002

The following study will examine various references to the Day of the Lord in the Old

Testament writing prophets and argue that the frequent collocation was elastic in nature

diverse in scope and varied with respect to timing This conclusion will be drawn in response

to three key questions that affect the nature scope and timing of the Day of the Lord With

respect to its nature did the Day of the Lord emphasize Godrsquos judgment blessing or both

Regarding scope did the Day of the Lord primarily affect Israel the surrounding Gentile

nations or an even broader entity In reference to timing did the Day of the Lord refer to a

past imminent or eschatological event or is it possible that multiple chronologies were in

view Following an examination of these questions the study will conclude with a summary

of common characteristics that can be ascribed to the Day of the Lord

The Nature of the Day of the Lord

The Day of the Lord is clearly characterized by a pouring out of divine wrath on Godrsquos

enemies ( Joel 21-2 Amos 518-20 Zech 114-15 ) Imagery of natural disaster devastating

military conquest and supernatural calamity is connected to Day of the Lord references

On the other hand the day is also characterized by a pouring out of divine blessing upon

Godrsquos people (Isa 42-6 3026 Hos 218-23 Joel 39-21 Amos 911-15 Mic 46-8 Zeph 27 Zech

146-9 ) Thus while divine judgment is certainly a prominent theme in the Day of the Lord it

$49 $198 $468 $49 $98 $

HOME

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1532016 A Basic Introduction To The Day Of The Lord In The Old Testament Writing Prophets | Bibleorg

httpsbibleorgarticlebasic-introduction-day-lord-old-testament-writing-prophets

is only part of the picture

The dual nature of the Day of the Lord is further illumined by its purposes The writing

prophets describe the Day of the Lord as coming so that people might turn from idols (Isa

218 20 ) and turn to Yahweh ( Joel 212-14 ) Those recognizing the severity of the day will

cry for Godrsquos mercy ( Joel 217 ) call on the name of the Lord to be saved ( Joel 232 ) and seek

refuge in the Rock (Isa 221 ) All of the above purposes highlight the blessing of this day forthose who have responded appropriately Ultimately all the nations will recognize Yahweh

in that day ( Joel 317 ) but then it will be too late for those destined to destruction and death

(Zeph 212-14 ) The example of the nations provides a clear picture of the dark side to this

same day that is a blessing for others

In sum an accurate presentation of the Day of the Lord requires us to recognize that the day

has two sides to its nature Sometimes one side is prominent sometimes the other This

should not come as a surprise to those who know the nature of the God who is behind thenature of the day If the Day of the Lord is ultimately a demonstration of Godrsquos sovereign

rule we would expect to see both wrath and blessing simultaneously

The Scope of the Day of the Lord

In light of the fact that the Day of the Lord has a duality to its nature and purpose it is

natural to assume that its scope will encompass the diversity of peoples affected by both the

side that brings blessing and the side that brings judgment Indeed the Day of the Lord was

connected to the judgment pronounced upon Babylon (Isa 131 6 9 13 ) Edom (Isa 348 )

Egypt ( Jer 4610 Ezek 303 ) and the Philistines ( Jer 474 ) Obadiah expands the individual

references to peoples and announces that the Day of the Lord will bring corporate judgment

to all of the nations (15) Isaiah broadens the scope of judgment even further describing

calamity that will fall upon the entire earth on the consummate Day of the Lord (1310-13)

This increasing scope suggests that judgment is not only directed toward particular peoples

or even the collective nations but toward evil in general Thus the Day of the Lord is properly

spoken of as bringing judgment to evil wherever it may be found in fallen creation

Since the Day of the Lord involves both judgment and blessing we would expect to see a

development of the scope of blessing in a manner similar to the scope of judgment Indeed

references to blessing expand from Davidrsquos kingdom (Amos 911-15 ) Zion (Isa 42-6 ) and all

of Judah (Zeph 27 ) to the entire earth (Zech 146 ) and its creation (Isa 111-10 Hos 218 ) The

Day of the Lord not only has a diverse nature but that nature accordingly affects diverse

categories of Godrsquos creation

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1532016 A Basic Introduction To The Day Of The Lord In The Old Testament Writing Prophets | Bibleorg

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The Timing of the Day of the Lord

By virtue of its diversity the Day of the Lord is not properly viewed as a one-time event and

technical force should be assigned to the phrase with caution Nevertheless even when one

recognizes multiple referents for the phrase distinguishing a given referentrsquos precise timing

remains difficult

Past references to the Day of the Lord emphasized Godrsquos sovereign judgment over the

nations Assyria was raised up to judge the northern kingdom of Israel in the eighth century

BCE (Amos 518 20 ) Babylon was raised up to judge the southern kingdom of Judah in the

seventh and sixth centuries BCE (Lam 112 21 21-22 Ezek 719 135 Zech 17-13 22-3 )

Babylon was raised up once more to judge Egypt in the sixth century BCE ( Jer 4610 Ezek

303 ) and Medo-Persia was raised up to judge Babylon shortly thereafter (Isa 136 9 )

Determining the fulfillment of past references to the Day of the Lord is a relatively easy task

Future references to the Day of the Lord are not difficult to locate However determining

whether those referents point toward an imminent or eschatological event from the

vantagepoint of the writer is another matter Some descriptions are clearly eschatological

Isaiah (210-22 341-8) Obadiah (15) Joel (31-16) and Zechariah (141-3 12-15) all describe

judgments which will affect the entirety of nations simultaneously Since no such collective

judgment has occurred up to the present these references to the Day of the Lord must be yet

future On the other hand the Day of the Lord is described with the imminent terms ldquonearrdquo

(Isa 136 Ezek 303 Joel 115 314 Obad 115 Zeph 17 ) and ldquocomingrdquo (Isaiah 139 Joel 21Zeph 114 ) It would seem somewhat problematic that five different prophets spanning four

different centuries would continue to refer to the Day of the Lord in such terms especially in

light of the fact that latter prophets were most certainly aware of earlier ones In other

words how near can ldquonearrdquo be if the day had not arrived in over four hundred years from the

time of its first mention This very question has led some scholars to suggest that the

prophets viewed the Day of the Lord with ldquobifocal visionrdquo allowing them to see both

historical and eschatological fulfillments at once

Interestingly both imminent and eschatological aspects of the Day of the Lord are found in

close proximity in the Book of Joel The phrase ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo was used to describe the

plague of locusts that destroyed crops and resulted in famine ( Joel 115-20 ) as well as the

imminent invasion of powerful armies ( Joel 21-11 ) However if one reads the celestial

changes in Joel 314-16 literally then Joel also refers to the Day of the Lord as an

eschatological event If read in this manner chapter three functions as a climax to Joelrsquos

prophecy telescoping from the immediate (and escalating) events of chapters one and two to

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the far eschatological event of chapter three Some may question the validity of telescoping

from a near to a far event without regard for events in between but prophetic telescoping

may legitimately be credited to ignorance on the part of the writer God only provided that

information which was necessary for the writer to knowmdashnothing more and nothing less

Regardless of the reasons for prophetic telescoping contextual evidence strongly suggests

that it is a common feature of Old Testament prophecy With respect to the Day of the Lordits continual unfolding in biblical history combined with its clear future element sets up the

former as a precursor to the latter in an ldquoalreadynot yetrdquo fashion Past events worthy of the

designation ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo provided a taste of things to come and provide continued

opportunity for repentance before arrival of the day

Summary of Common Characteristics Ascribed to the Day of the Lord

Diversified use of the collocation ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo suggests that emphasis does not belong asmuch to timing as to essence The Day of the Lord constitutes a repeated event that will

find ultimate eschatological fulfillment in the future However the diversity found in

chronology is held together by the common characteristics that each Day of the Lord

possesses

It should be remembered that the Hebrew term ltoy (ldquodayrdquo) signaled an important event in

the Jewish mindset hinting at divine intervention in human history with particular

attention to Godrsquos rule over the earth It should be further noted that all non-eschatological

references to the Day of the Lord included the use of human instruments and activity to

accomplish divine purposes and this points to a distinguishing feature of the eschatological

Day of the Lord It has been previously noted that the ldquoalreadynot yetrdquo tension seen in

historicaleschatological references to the Day of Lord is building toward an ultimate

climactic fulfillment In this respect the consummate eschatological Day of the Lord finds

similarity with those days that have gone before but it is decidedly different in that the hand

of Messiah and not primarily human instruments carries out divine purpose

This heightening of previous themes leads to the significant theological observation that the

eschatological Day of the Lord represents an event in which human hands can play no partmdash

the ultimate and permanent undoing of evil and the lasting transformation and redemption

of that which has been ravished by sin This day is a picture of Godrsquos ultimate triumph and

an unmistakable declaration of his prevailing justice The ultimate purpose of this day

perfectly reflects the dual nature of the days leading up to it with the warning for some to

repent and encouragement for others to persevere (cf 1 Cor 18 ) The Day of the Lord is

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certainly a terrible day of judgment for some but for others it is the means to purification

and renewed blessing that will surely ensue once the dust has settled

Bibliography

Burge GM ldquoDay of Christ God the Lordrdquo In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Edited by

Walter A Elwell Grand Rapids Baker 1984

Caird G B The Language and Imagery of the Bible Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1980

Chisholm Robert B Jr From Exegesis to Exposition A Practical Guide to Using Biblical

Hebrew Grand Rapids Baker 1998

ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo In Dictionary of Biblical Imagery Edited by Leland Ryken James C Wilhoit

and Tremper Longman III Downers Grove IL InterVarsity 1998

Glenny W Edward ldquoThe Israelite Imagery of 1 Peter 2rdquo In Dispensationalism Israel and the

Church The Search for Definition Edited by Craig A Blaising and Darrell L Bock Grand

Rapids Zondervan 1992

Hiers Richard ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo In The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6 vols Edited by David Noel

Freedman New York Doubleday 1992

Martens Elmer ldquoDay of the Lord God Christ therdquo In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical

Theology Edited by Walter A Elwell Grand Rapids Baker 1996

Witherington Ben III Jesus Paul and the End of the World Downers Grove IL InterVarsity

1992

A study of the expression ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo should also take into account the synonymous

expressions found in the Old Testament The Hebrew collocation hw`hy+ ltoy (ldquoday of the

Lordrdquo) is easily identified fourteen times in the writing prophets (Isa 136 9 Joel 115 21 11

34 414 Amos 518 [twice] 20 Obad 115 Zeph 17 14 [twice] Mal 323 ) but similar

collocations such as hw`hy+ ltoyB= (ldquoon the day of the Lordrdquo Ezek 135 ) hw`hyl ltoy (ldquothe Lord

has a dayrdquo Isa 348 Ezek 303 ) toabx= hw`hyl^ ltoy (ldquothe Lord of Hosts has a dayrdquo Isa 212

225 ) and hw`hy+-[a^ ltoy (ldquothe day of the anger of the Lordrdquo Lam 222 ) must also be

considered See Richard Hiers ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo in The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6 vols ed

by David Noel Freedman (New York Doubleday 1992) 283

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It seems logical that the nature of the Day of the Lord would emerge from its conceptual

origins Though some have suggested a conceptual link with the day of divine rest following

creation cultic ritual (eg a kingrsquos enthronement) or Israelrsquos troubled history the use of

battle imagery in connection with the phrase suggests a potential link with the conquest of

Canaan (cf Deut 130 322 Josh 513-15 62 ) This would certainly highlight the element of

judgment experienced by some but for others the outcome of battle meant newly acquired

blessing

Ben Witherington III Jesus Paul and the End of the World (Downers Grove IL InterVarsity

1992) 148

Interestingly Joelrsquos call to repentance takes the standard prophetic form of an appeal

attached to a motivating argument (usually in the form of a promise or threat) Joelrsquos appeal

in 112-13a is followed by a motivating argument that appeals to Godrsquos gracious character in

113b and potential mercy and blessing in 114 See Robert B Chisholm Jr From Exegesis toExposition A Practical Guide to Using Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids Baker 1998) 183

G M Burge ldquoDay of Christ God the Lordrdquo in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology ed by

Walter A Elwell (Grand Rapids Baker 1984) 147

Eg G B Caird The Language and Imagery of the Bible (Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1980)

259

There is some question as to whether the reference to an army in 211 is to be understood as

a powerful military brigade or a figurative reference to the locusts of 115-20 Joel 225 makes

reference once again to locusts so some have argued that a literal swarm of locusts have

been in view all along Though the view which reads a literal swarm of locusts through all of

chapters one and two finds support in curses leveled for abandoning the Mosaic covenant (cf

Deut 2838-39 ) it is also true that multiple punishment is one of the curse types (cf Lev 2618

21 24 28 ) In other words it may be possible that the outbreak of locusts was the harbinger

of an even greater catastrophe (ie military invasion) to come Indeed the Assyrian armies

under Sennacherib in 701 BCE or the Babylonian armies under Nebuchadnezzar in the 590rsquos

and 580rsquos would have carried the destructive potential depicted by Joel Regardless of the

manner in which one interprets the reference to an army in 211 this unmistakable sign of

Godrsquos judgment was clearly a past event worthy of the designation ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo

In addition Joelrsquos use of imagery seems to anticipate several New Testament texts (Matt

1341-43 49-50 2437-41 2531-46 2 Thess 19 Rev 1417-20 ) Clearer allusions are found in

the collocations ldquothat dayrdquo (Matt 722 1 Thess 54 ) ldquoday of Godrdquo (2 Pet 312 ) ldquoday of wrathrdquo

2

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httpsbibleorgarticlebasic-introduction-day-lord-old-testament-writing-prophets

(Rom 25-6 ) and ldquoday of our Lord Jesus Christrdquo (2 Cor 114 Phil 16 10 ) In both anticipation

and allusion the same day produces a certain terror for the unbeliever and a joy for those

who know the Lord behind the day

Indeed the collocation ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo is used by the prophets to describe any period of

time in which God intervenes to save or judge See ldquoDay of the Lordrdquo in Dictionary of Biblical

Imagery eds Leland Ryken James C Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III (Downers Grove ILInterVarsity 1998) 196

Burge ldquoDay of Christ God the Lordrdquo 295

Elmer Martens ldquoDay of the Lord God Christ therdquo in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical

Theology ed by Walter A Elwell (Grand Rapids Baker 1996) 146

This shared yet heightened theme is in keeping with general principles of typologicalfulfillment W Edward Glenny has identified three helpful guidelines for grounding

typological interpretation in a careful handling of scripture First the type must be

grounded in scripture and possess a solid historical foundation Second there must be a

discernable pattern between the texts under consideration Finally a typological

interpretation must manifest a heightening of meaning from the Old Testament to the New

See W Edward Glenny ldquoThe Israelite Imagery of 1 Peter 2rdquo in Dispensationalism Israel and

the Church The Search for Definition ed by Craig A Blaising and Darrell L Bock (Grand

Rapids Zondervan 1992) 158

Related Topics ProphecyRevelation

983156 983142 983143

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